Crate.



J. HOLBROOK.

CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23. 1914.

Patented Oct. 12, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1.

coLuMmA c.

anew $01 J. HOLBROOK.

CRATE.

APPLICATION HLED JUNE 23, 1914.

Patented Oct. 12, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

rm Imam FLANDORAPH COnWASHINGTON Dv c4 Smuzmtoz a HOT/W213 .l. HOLBROOK.

CRATE.

APPLICATION EILED JUNE 23, 1914.

1,156,230. Patented Oct. 12, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH CO.. WASHINGTON. D. Q

,i'o'Hiv HOLBROO'K, or Presents, 0am.

CRATE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented net. 12, 1915.,

Application filed June as, 1914. Serial No. 846,893.

To all whom it may 007mm;-

Be it known that 1, JOHN HoLenooK, a subject of the King of GreatBritain, residing at Byesville, in the county of Guern sey and State ofOhio, have invented new and useful Improvements in Crates, of which thefollowing is a specificat on.

The present invention relates to improvements in collapsible or foldablecrates, the primary object of the same being to provide a shipping cratewhich may be easily and quickly collapsed or folded wlthout theseparationof any of the parts so that loose or separable members willnot be requlred when setting up the crate.

A further object of the invention is to provide a crate which shallinclude a bottom box-like section, sides and ends being hingedly securedto said bottomand a cover being hingedly connected with the sides, thearrangement being such that, when the crate is in its set up position, afirm and strong structure will be provided, and when the sides and endsare folded upon each other over the bottom, they will form a closure forthe said bottom, so that small articles may be packed in the bottom, asfor instance, the collapsible partitions providing cells or receptaclesfor eggs, or the like, and whereby the said small articles will besecurely sus-- tained within the bottom member of the crate.

lVit-h the above and other objects in view, the improvement resides inthe construction, combination and arrangement of parts set forth in thefollowing specification and falling within the scope of the appendedclaims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a collapsibleshipping crate constructed in accordance with the present invention, thesame being in a set-up position; Fig. 2 is a central transversesectional view through the same, Fig. 3 is a central longitudinalsection, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the device in its knock-down 0rcollapsed condition, Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through thesame, F ig; 6 is a detail horizontal sectional view illustrating onemanner of securing one of the ends to one of the sides, Fig, 7 is asimilar sectional view showing the second form connecting the end andside, Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view looking toward the inner faceof the end with the locking member arranged thereon, and Fig. 9 is a.perspective view of the bracket carried by one of the side membersadapted'to co-act with the lock. Fig. 10 is a detail horizontalsectional, view illustrating a second manner of securing one of the endsto one of thesides.

The shipping case or crate, indicated generally by the character Cincludes essentially a base 1, which is of a box-like formation,comprising a rectangular bottom 2, the sides 3 and 4 and ends 5. Theends 5 each project a similar distance above the base :1, and the sides3 and 4 have their inner faeeschanneled or otherwise reduced to providethe same with horizontal shoulders 3 which are arranged straight orflushwith the upper edges of the said ends 5. v

Hingedly secured to the inner faces of the ends 5 of the boX 1 are theswinging or foldable end plates 7 of the crate proper, each of said endplates adjacent its upper or free corners having an opening 8 throughwhich passes th'e shank 9 of a headed securing member 10. v j r i Thereduced portion of the side 3 is eX- tended above the edges of the ends'5 of the box 1 or above the shoulder 6 thereof a greater distance thanis the end terminal of the reduced portion of the side 1, and. hingedlysecured upon the inner face of each of said reduced portions are theside plates 11 and 12 respectively of the crate proper. The side plate11 which is hingedly secured to the side 30f the box or bot tom hashinged to its upper'and outer edge a plate 13 forming one ofthe'sections of the top of the device, while the plate 12, which isconnected with the side 4, has hingedly secured to its upper and outeredge a plate l l which provides the hinged top proper for the device,and which when swung against the plate 13 over the upper edges of theend plates 7 abuts with the free end of the plate or section13, andthecombined width of these two plates equals the width of the box 1, orthe length of the ends 5 of the said boX. The top 14 has arrangedthereon a securing member preferably in the nature of a hasp 15which isadapted to engage with a staple 16 provided upon the plate13, a lock 17being also arranged upon the staple to securely lockthe top of thecrate; v

Byproviding thesides 3 and t with re-. duced portions, affording thehorizontal shoulders 6, it will be noted that when the ends 5 are swunginwardly they will rest upon the said shoulders, whereby the said endsform a closure for the box 1. The top plate 14 is, when the device iscollapsed, folded upon the outer face of the side 4, and the side tswung over the ends 5. The plate 13 is swung upon its hinge to bring thesame flush with the side 3, and both of these members are folded overthe top 14:. The combined width of the side 11 and the plate 13 equalsthe width of the box, but the top folded upon the side 12 is less thanthe width of the said box, so that the plate 13 extends slightly beyondthe free end of the top plate 14 and this extending portion has arrangedthereon a staple 17 which is adapted to receive the bill of a hook 18which is provided upon the outer face of the side 4:.

It is, of course, to be understood that in lieu of the hook l8 and thestaple, some suitable locking means will be provided for sustaining theelements of the crate in their collapsed position, and, if desired, andas indicated in the drawings, the bill of the hook may be provided withan elongated slot 19 within which may be arranged the hasp of a smalllock 20.

vVhen the parts of the crate are in their set up position, as has beenpreviously described, it is of course essential that some means beprovided for locking the end plates 7 to the side plates 11 and 12, andtherefore, I have secured to each of the said sides substantiallyL-shaped members or brackets 21, one of the angular portions of each .ofthe brackets projecting over the side, each of said angular portionsbeing provided with an opening 22 which registers with the opening 8 inthe end plate 7, and through which in the modification shown in Fig. 10the shank 9 of the securing member 10 may be projected, while wing nuts23 may engage with the threaded shanks to sustain the sides and endsrigidly connected.

IVhile securing means comprising nuts and bolts, as just described, maybe found eflicient in some instances, it will be noted that the saidnuts and bolts must be either deposited within the box 1 or the nutsthreaded upon the bolts before the bolts are removed from the openings,both of which arrangements not proving altogether satisfactory in someinstances, as time must be expended in threading the nuts upon thebolts. Therefore, I have found it desirable to provide a securing member24 which comprises a shank 25 that is arranged within the openings 8,one end of the shank having a flanged head 26, and its second and outerend being provided with a bit 27. 'The bracket, in such aninstance, isprovided with a key-slot in lieu of the rounded opening 22, and apressure is adapted to be exerted. upon the head 26 of each of themembers 2st to force its'bit through the key slot of each of thebrackets. Thereafter, the bit 27 may be rotated and arranged away fromthe slot to lock the sides to the ends.

If desired, and as illustrated in Fig. 7 of the drawings, the inner wallof each of the end members may have a plate 30 having an opening thereinwhich registers with the opening 8 in the end plates, and the said platemay have an angular or depressed portion 31 which communicates with itsopening, and the head 26 of the securing member 2% may have itsinnerface cam-shaped, so that when the enlarged portion of the same isreceived within the depression the bit 27 thereof may readily passthrough the key-hole slot 29 in the bracket, and when the shank isrotated to bring its bit out of register with the said slot, the camhead traveling upon the inclined surface of the depressed portion of theplate 30 will afford a binding action between the head of the saidsecuring member and the bit thereof, thus sustaining the securing memberin locked position against danger of accidental removal. Still again,and as illustrated in Fig. 8 of the drawings, the bracket 21 may beprovided with a key-slot 29 and the securing member having its shankprovided with a flanged head similar to the head 26 and a bit similar tothe bit 27 which is adapted to pass through the key slot in bracket. Thebracket, below the key slot may be slitted vertically andlongitudinally. The members thereof being out-turned to provide springcatches 3535 which are spaced apart a distance only slightly in excessof the width of the bit of the securing nut, so that when the said bitis arranged therebetween the same will be retained against rotarymovement, and one of the said members 35 must be depressed. before thebit can travel thereover to again register with the key-hole slot in thebracket to permit of the collapsing of the crate. In lieu of forming themembers 3535 by slitting the said bracket similar catch members may beformed thereon, as teats, formed by forcing a portion of the metal ofthe bracket outwardly, may be found equally efficient, the

said structure being illustrated in Fig. 9 of the drawings.

1 From the above description, taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings, the simplicity of the device, as well as the advantagesthereof will, it is thought, be perfectly apparent to those skilled inthe art to which such invention appertains without further detaileddescription.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. A knock-down crate including a bottom box-like section comprising abase, ends and sides, the sides having their inner faces channeled toprovide shoulders which are arranged flush with the upper edges of theends, and plates hingedly secured to the ends of the box, side membershingedly secured to the sides of the boX, top members hingedly securedto the sides and the end plates adapted when the device is collapsed,

to rest upon the shoulders provided by the sides to form a closure forthe boX-shaped bottom.

2. A knock-down crate including a boxlike bottom section, the sides ofwhich projecting beyond the ends and having their inner faces channeledto provide shoulders which are flush with the ends, side and end plateshingedly secured to the sides and ends of the base, a top comprising twomembers of unequal width, one of which being hingedly connected witheach of the side plates, means, comprising mechanism arranged betweenthe ends and sides ,for securing the crate in the set-up position, theend plates adapted to rest upon the shoulders of the sides of the basewhen the crate is collapsed and the side plates with their top sectionsswung to overlie the end plates and each other, and means for securingthe crate in a knock-down position.

3. A collapsible crate including a box-like base having its sideselevated above its ends and the inner faces of the said sides channeledto provide shoulders which are arranged fiush with the ends, side andend plates hingedly connected with the respective sides and ends of theplates, a top comprising two sections of unequal width, one of whichbeing hingedly secured to each of the respective side plates, bracketsupon the side plates and longitudinally adjustable locking members uponthe end plates adapt ed to c0act with the brackets for sustaining theends locked upon the side plates.

In a collapsible crate including a boxlike base having its sideselevated above its ends and the inner faces of the said sides channeledto provide shoulders which are arranged flush with the ends, side andend plates hingedly connected with the respective sides and ends of theplates, a top comprising two sections of unequal width, one of whichbeing hingedly secured to each of the respective side plates, angularbrackets having key-hole slots upon the side plates, and longitudinallymovable shank members having bits adapted to be passed through thekey-hole slots and turned to engage with the sides of the brackets toengage the brackets to sustain the side plates looked upon the endplates.

5. A collapsible crate including a box-like base having its sideselevated above its ends and the inner faces of said sides channeled toprovide shoulders which are arranged flush with the ends, side and endplates hingedly connected with the respective sides and ends of theplates, a top comprising two sections of unequal width, one of whichbeing hingedly secured to each of the respective side plates,longitudinally movable key members upon the side plates, brackets uponthe side plates having key-hole slots adapted to receive the bits of thekeys on the end plates, and means arranged upon the brackets engagingwith the bits of the keys for preventing the rotation of the keys.

6. A collapsible crate including a box-like base having its sideselevated above its ends and the inner faces of said sides channeled toprovide shoulders which are arranged flush with the ends, side and endplates hingedly connected with the respective sides and ends of theplates, a top comprising two sections of unequal width, one of whichbeing hingedly secured to each of the respective side plates,longitudinally movable key members upon the sides, brackets upon theside plates having key-hole slots adapted to receive the bits of thekeys on the end plates, and spring means arranged upon the bracketsengaging with the bits of the keys for preventing the rotation of thekeys.

7. A collapsible crate including a box-likebase having its sideselevated above its ends and the inner faces of said sides channeled toprovide shoulders which are arranged flush with the ends, side and endplates hingedly connected with the respective sides and ends of theplates, a top comprising two sections of unequal width, one of whichbeing hingedly secured to each of the respective side plates,longitudinally movable key members upon the side plates, brackets uponthe side plates having key-hole slots adapted to receive the bits of thekeys upon the end plates, and spring catches arranged upon the bracketsengaging with the bits of the keys for preventing the rotation of thekeys.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN HOLBROOK.

Witnesses:

METTA E. THoMrsoN, J. A. HoorMAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

